When I finish reading a story, I usually rate it and comment. Sometimes, I give a rating of 3. When I do, I'm asked by the system to explain my reasons, which I do. I say what works, what doesn't, and make suggestions.
Tonight, I scrolled through my own stories, looking at number of views, new comments, and so on.
I noticed a few 3's but no negative or critical comments. I thought maybe some folks gave a 3 rating, but didn't care to write real critques, so they write positives instead. However, one story got more 3s than comments, so evidently some stories get 3s and no comments.
Why the difference? Anyone know? Iis there a way to avoid the comment that I haven't seen?
Thanks.
Paddling works three ways:
* Me on top
* You on top
* On the water
It wasn't always set up the way it is now. 3 votes didn't require a comment previously, as they do now.
The system is going to change in the next month or so, no comments are going to be required for any score. Scores are however, still going to be tracked to individual's accounts, so we can see if certain people are voting down stories intentionally etc.
I too would like to thank you for this. Several times, I will read a story and want to leave a "3," but I won't because I really don't have anything else to say about it. This will make me want to vote more regularly than I do.
"So don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
Don't lie to me,
Just get your things.
I've made up your mind."
--Evanescence
I view three's as average. Sort of like a "C" in school. Comments are great, but I don't think an average score needs explaining. I got a one on my story, and the person said it started out good, but ended up being cheap porn. That comment didn't help me in evaluating my story. Just told me that they didn't like how the story went.
I wondered why you hardly ever see 1, 2, & 3 ratings. I haven't rated anyone, because I tend to be overly critical. So I need to a get a better feel of what is 'standard' here before I say something is really 1, 2, or 3. Fives are easy to spot though.
I like the idea of requiring a comment to go with a vote of 3 or worse. If you have the audacity to trash someone's story with a bad vote then back it up with your words and do it without hiding your identity. It takes the cowardice out of it. You either show some guts or don't do it.
Isn't it possible to vote 3 or lower, comment (since it's obligatory), and only afterwards delete the comment? Or those deleting the comment also delete the vote? I just checked, and no, it doesn't delete the vote. Some arrogant prick gave me a one, along with an idiotic comment, and later deleted his comment (after we discussed the matter in private), and the 1 still shows in the votes for the story. So that may be how stories get 3s without the comments. Along with what Nicola said, of course.
I don't like the obligatory comment thing, and I'm glad it will be removed. People are simply too sensitive. A 3 isn't a bad score. It means "average". Let's be realists and agree that a story can be average. If I got a 1, I'd understand there are things to work on, and a lot of things at that, on that story. I'd rather see stories averaging in the 2-3 range, so that in contrast, the real masterpieces on this site stand out even more.
I deserve a lot more 2s and 3s than I've received. I guess that why I only got a combined 27 votes so far. ;)
I'm not sure about the required comment thing. I kind of like the idea, because I try to set a rule for myself to review everything I read. (But you have 500 character limit and I am a very long winded person. I'd have to write three or four comments to get everything out, if I was correcting common, punctuation, grammar, spelling, number usage.) And I'd like everyone to leave comments to tell me what they don't like even if they are mean. But five comments that say the same thing really isn't beneficial anymore, and most people would probably say a lot of the same things.
So if you give a one I do think you should tell the person why, but I think the same thing of a five. And forcing the comment seems to have made people just not rate it instead of actually saying something. On Scribophile you have to leave critique to get karma in order to post work. I thought that was a brilliant idea, because it forces people to give feedback. But the whole idea of that site is to improve writing and you can't post more than two stories or chapters of stories without paying. So it doesn't really work for people who just want to read stories.
I was a member of a site that no longer exists, where each member's vote was weighted according to that member's involvement in the site. You'd get points for logging on, but a lot more for voting, then commenting, and also having stories published. So, in the end, it was the most active members whose votes weighed more in a story's (or poem's) score. A veteran member's vote could be 10 times the vote of a new member (and the "weight" was dynamic, as the member gained points for participating in the community's life). I think it was a good way to have a scores that reflected the quality of the piece and also prevent score-bombing. But if I recall correctly, it was a rather complex algorithm that the site's creator/web designer/programmer/supreme being took years refining. And of course, that site didn't have nearly the same volume of members and stories as lush has. I just miss that site...
Comments are applause.......
(And, in truth, in my case, the occasional Boo.......)
Can't please 'em all......
But I CAN say, as a writer, that I have HUGE gratitude toward the people (ALL PEOPLE )who bother to comment on my work.... And YES, I comment upon the stuff I like.....
xx SF
The opinions stated here are from individuals, correction.. Writers that I respect and enjoy reading. Some of you are the most prolific writers here.
I recently went to the "Most Viewed" list, which I glean is based upon reads (meaning clicks). The top 14 of the top 15 stories read like case profiles for "Most Wanted". I didn't come here to read that type of story, nor do I care to demean myself to that level.
I love the concept of a weighted voting system, but it does sound complex.
Rather than having a comment not required, I would prefer to see comments required for all votes.
I post stories here to see if I have potential as a writer and hone my writing style, thus votes without comments are empty. I crave comments, more than that, I want constructive criticism. I would love to see my name on the list as a high rated author, but applause without reason is somewhat empty.
I wish we had a comment required for all votes along with what score the vote was.
The people that tend to give bad scores practically never say who they are or why.
I assume that they are just jealous that they can't write a well received story themselves so they dish out bad votes and hide like cowards!!!!
I think that there should be a reason why a 1/2/3 score is deserved, like how it was before in V1 of Lush.
The way I score is like this .... I read a lot of stories, and there are a lot of those stories that I don't score because it didn't deserve a score - maybe I lost interest in the first two paragraphs, maybe it was poorly written, maybe the story was not plausible (all of those are important in my opinion).
I also dislike giving some stories a score ... because on the "outside" .... you may see a story that shows ... "20" or more ... and you think, must be good. You get into the story, and you realize many of the scores are 3 or less. What a waste of time.
I almost would prefer to see the scoring (still done on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being tops) .... but what is reflect on the story pages is the A-E grades indicating A for 5 ratings, then the mix up of: B for those with 4 ratings and C for those with 3 ratings, etc. Where it gets screwy is in the case of Buz's (above) latest story ... wherein someone low balled his story with a 1. Like really???
Just because a story has a lot of "Scores" does not indicate it's a great story.
Ok ... back to the original posting ... I think the reasons why a story is being graded 1/2/3 should be reimplemented for fairness.
There seem to be two type of readers or more lol.
the one who cares for grammar, plot and flow of the story:
They will vote a four if something is missing.
A three if something more is missing.
A two if one part seems totally lost
and a 1 if they can't get how it was ever submitted and got through the system in the first place.
THe one who cares for what's in the story:
5. It has everything I want in a story, I came big time.
4. it was missing a scene or two, I still got off though, put a doggystyle scene in next time!
3. Hello?! you missed out both the doggy and the wife busting them!
2. too long passings without the deed. come on seriously?
1. there was hardly no sex in it?(or the wrong sort of sex) how was I to even get a boner(get wet)?!
[EDIT:]
I'm glad that the system will change.
When a person don't vote or put a comment, I suppose they either read it logged out or didn't read it at all just browsing by.
(Something like all the people who actually looked at your profile but didn't find you interesting enough to say hello to.)
The count on how many votes and comments I get is the number that I care for more than how many "reads" I've gotten.
A person putting a one on your story hopefully read it through to the end and gave its opinion, it's nice to see there's still honesty around.
I do so agree with Yahtzee, a high score level posted on the cover page is misleading, but a grade would be helpful.
Catnip has again hit the nail on the head. Perhaps we should post her note as voting directions, on each story as an epilog. ;)
I was just trying to show that people think differently when they vote. One is voting a 1 because they didn't like what was in the story the other one because of the quality of the text.
That's why I like more advanced voting where you grade different aspects of the story. But it's not for everyone, and not for lush. (It's been brought up and turned down more times than I dare to count.)
Or at least Admin being aware of the low-ball-scoring that obviously should not have happened in this case.